Category Archives: Christmas

Can we do one more holiday cookie? Let’s do another holiday cookie! I’m sure there are plenty of you out there with more holiday parties to attend this weekend and I want to make sure you have fresh cookies for your tray. If you can snag a bag of these kisses, they may be 50% off, double bonus – easy Christmas Cookies with on-sale ingredients!

These cookies were made for the annual cookie exchange and caroling event with my church group. The weird thing about this event is that in the past I would be embarrassed about singing out in the open and openly celebrating the season, yet something has changed. Without irony and without embarrassment I can celebrate and rejoice in my faith! And it was fun and filled me with the holiday spirit (and Spirit). A great night!

An easy cookie with a brownie-ish base and a kiss on top, nothing can go wrong. The cookies are a little bit crispy and a little bit chewy. A minty chocolate kiss on top is the perfect compliment. Either whip up a batch this weekend or save them for next year, no matter what, this a wonderful cookie!

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Merry Christmas! I’m about to jump in my Christmas Eve dress and try out some red lipstick for the first time and head over to my cousin’s for dinner. The cookie trays are finished and the presents are wrapped. The champagne is being chilled for tomorrow’s mimosas and I’m ready to rock this holiday. It’s hard to believe Christmas is already upon us.

Let’s do gingerbread without the men or the houses. Let’s get back to gingerbread in its simplest form – a flavorful, gingery bread. That is what we have here. Tons of flavor in little bites. There is molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and a little clove for kick. The squares are soft and chewy, everything you want from a gingerbread. These are a delightful addition to the holiday tray, a perfect compliment to all the other cookies. Let the holidays begin!

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Shortbread cookies are apparently my jam for late 2015, they are so easy and fun to roll out. There is no need to worry about spreading either because of the lack of baking powder and soda. The dough rolls out smoothly and the delicate flavor of the plain shortbread lends itself to anything your heart images.

In addition to my love of shortbread, I’ve been loving on cranberries! In fact, I’m sipping on a delightful cranberry mimosa right now! Totally in the Christmas spirit! Cranberries and oranges (or in this case, tangerines) are a perfect match of sweet and sour; both are plentiful and in season. It’s nice to have a fruity component to the Christmas cookie tray.

When I was thinking of cookies for my holiday tray, I wanted representation from all the flavors of the season. Peppermint, ginger, cranberry, vanilla, nutty, and eggnog all needed to be included, and they are! There is also a variety of textures like crunchy, creamy, and tender. Tangerine cranberry shortbread cookies take care of the cranberry and crunchy categories and are perfect for your non-chocolate loving friends. A delightful addition to my Christmas plate!

Cookies – In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment beat the butter until creamy. Add in the powdered sugar and mix on low until just combined. Beat in the vanilla and zest. Scrape down the bowl.

Sift the flour and salt into the butter and mix until just barely incorporated. Finely chop the cranberries and add those to mixer. Gently fold in.

Knead the dough slightly so it comes together and then wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

I wanted thinner cookies, so I rolled the dough on a well floured surface to 1/8” thickness and used a 2” round cutter to make disks. These baked for 8 minutes. If you want thicker cookies, they will bake a bit longer.

Cookies should barely brown. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Glaze – Whisk together the tangerine juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Feel free to add more/less powdered sugar for a thicker or thinner glaze.

Drizzle the glaze over each cookie and allow to dry fully before packaging.

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Here are some lazy-lady Christmas sugar cookies. Gone are the days when I would take a day off of work to decorate cookies with royal icing; this was after already making, rolling, and baking the cookies! Decorated sugar cookies are gorgeous and I just wish I had the time/energy to devote to the process, but I don’t.

Enter this sprinkle cookie, possibly the next best thing! Make the dough, add a ton of sprinkles, roll/cut, and bake. You’re done. The cookies aren’t too sweet and take a fraction of the time. Sprinkle cookies are adorable and easy. They are buttery and chewy and make a delightful addition to any holiday cookie tray!

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy.

Add the sugar and seeds of the vanilla bean to the butter and take a minute to massage the vanilla into the sugar. Beat until pale yellow.

Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, scrape the bowl as needed.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into the butter mixture and mix on the lowest speed until barely combined. Beat in the sprinkles.

Break the dough into 2 balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll out the dough on a well floured surface to 1/4” thickness. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut shapes and place on a the cookie sheets. The cookies do not spread, so they can be placed close together. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Move to a rack.

Let cool completely on a wire rack before storing.

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So many cookie swaps, so little time! Today it’s the FB Cookie Swap from the lovely Julie of The Little Kitchen and Lindsey of Love and Olive Oil. After last year’s fun, I could resist doing it again! Instead of peppermint + chocolate, I went with another one of my favorite pairings chocolate + peanut butter.

I sent out some great cookies, no bragging intended. But they were really, really tasty! I had to make a double batch so I would have plenty to mail out plus enough to save for photographing when I was able to get some weekend sunlight. This time of year is brutally limited for natural light. I ate at least one of these cookies everyday for breakfast without fail, I couldn’t resist. These cookies have everything a traditional buckeye has plus a brownie base. To be fair, I know they sort of look like turds, but the inside is beautiful! I’m just going to call it like I see it…A crispy, fudgy bottom with a sweet, creamy peanut butter filling is hard to resist; add chocolate on top and I’m swooning! I’m glad I had so many cookies leftover for eating and sharing with local friends! I hope Ruthy of Omeletta, Susan of That Susan Williams, and Stephanie of Steph’s Bite by Bite enjoyed them as much as I did!

When you’re receiving a dozen cookies from three different bloggers PLUS eating leftover cookies in your own kitchen, it is best to share the bounty with coworkers. Surprisingly, not everyone was okay with eating cookies from strangers. The weird thing is, even though I don’t know anyone in the swap IRL, it does not seem strange and the bloggers seem familiar. Everyone is in their kitchen doing their thing and blogging about it just like me. I love that we are able to share are goodies with others. It’s the best we have until smells and tastes can be transmitted through the interwebs!I was super fortunate to receive an amazing selection of cookies! Mieke of Mieke Z Mackay sent lovely oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips and nuts; salty sweet deliciousness! Amy of Club Narwhal sent delightfully dunk-able biscotti; chocolate and vanilla with cranberries and pistachios! Last, but not least, Tux of Brooklyn Homemaker sent some divine gingerbread linzer cookies with a white chocolate-orange ganache filling; I can’t wait until he posts the recipe so I can make another batch! A successful cookie swap for 2014, I can’t wait for 2015. As Lynn said, “I must be doing something right!”

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The last week has reeked havoc on my kitchen. Every night has a sink full of dishes and flour on the floor. But it’s all worth it because I can now bring you seven straight days of holiday cookies and treats. Holiday baking is my favorite time of year!

It’s always a struggle between old favorites and new recipes. My only limitations are the hours in the evening and Tupperware. Here is one new recipe inspired by the SRC Cookie Carnival.

A Cookie Carnival? How could I resist? The Secret Recipe Club did a holiday cookie post and I could not resist. I was assigned Karen from Karen’s Kitchen Stories. Her blog is lovely and features recipes she makes for her family. We have similar styles in that we both love to share recipes, slightly adapted, from cookbooks, blogs, and magazines. Blogging is fun hobby that allows us to share treats with others.

These cookies are gorgeous, easy, and super tasty! Their light green color is perfect for a Christmas cookie tray and I love the saltiness from the pistachios on the outside. The cookies have everything you want – crispy, crunchy, salty, sweet, and chocolate! The flavor is a subtle pistachio taste that is delightful!

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There are a few holiday traditions that are more important than making the family cookies that only appear once a year. My mom and I would go to my grandmas, sit at the same corner table, roll out the dough, fill, bake, and laugh. We would always burn our tongues eating a cookie straight off the cookie sheet before they have a chance to properly cool.

Last year was the first year my mom or I made the dough. In previous years my grandma always made the fillings and dough before we arrived so we could focus on rolling out, filling, and rolling up the crescents. These cookies are definitely a 2-3 person job! Apparently my great grandmother used to make countless batches of these cookies all on her own. Someday I hope to have that kind of time available to me!

This year Christmas traditions are going to change it bit. It’ll be just my mom and I making the cookies and we will no longer be gathering in my grandparent’s 70’s themed basement tearing up the kids table on Christmas Eve. My brother has the ping pong table, I took an awesome owl-string-art wall piece, and the rest of their house is being divided up. I’ve missed my grandma everyday since she has left, but the next few weeks are going to make the loss that much more real. I treasure all the memories I have with my grandmother shopping, baking, and spending all and every holiday together. This grief thing is hard, do you ever stop missing someone you love?

These cookies are a quintessential part of my holiday a season, I think they would make a fantastic addition to your Christmas cookie tray! There are quite a few steps involved in making the cookies, but every buttery, flaky bite is worth it. The key tip – use the lid of a large sauce pan to cut perfect circles ready to cut into eighths and rolled into lovely crescents! Honestly, I do not like the apricot ones, it’s all about the walnuts!